Prof Anupitan, INEC Chairman

*** Commission pledges actions against repeat of 2023 glitches

*** Says credibility of 2027 election will rebuild lost public trust on commission

By Tony Chuddy and Bennett Uzama

Some political parties and their candidates have been left in deeper crisis as the Appeal Court in Abuja upturned the High Court ruling which stepped aside the election timetable released  by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ahead of the 2027 general election.

It will be recalled that an Abuja Federal  High Court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, in its judgement in June, invalidated the  timeline INEC issued for the conduct of primaries and the nomination of candidates by all the political parties.

The court set aside INEC’s May 10 deadline requiring political parties to submit a register and data base of all their members as a condition for qualifying to participate in the general election.

The lower court in a suit brought before it by the Youth Party (YP), held that the timetable  imposed for political parties by INEC to conduct their primaries and to submit, withdraw, or replace the names and particulars of their candidates for the general election “is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.”

The Youth Party (YP), in the suit, no  FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016.
prayed the court to compel the electoral body to comply with the Electoral Act 2026’s 120-day pre-election deadline for submitting party registers and candidates’ personal particulars.

The party  further prayed the court to declare that the provisions of Sections 29, 82, and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, does not empower INEC to receive notice of party primaries and the personal particulars of candidates, adding that the commission’s role of attending, observing, and monitoring political parties primaries, do not extend to fixing or prescribing the timetable within which political parties may conduct their primary elections for the purpose of nominating candidates for the 2027 general election.

Justice Umar declared that in view of the provisions of Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires political parties to submit the personal particulars of their candidates not later than 120 days to an election, “INEC cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election timetable.”

The court further declared that in line with Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2026, which permits political parties to withdraw and substitute candidates not later than 90 days before the conduct of an election, INEC lacks the power to abridge or limit that statutory period by fixing an earlier deadline for the withdrawal and replacement of candidates in its 2027 election timetable.

Justice Umar further held that, by the provisions of Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026, INEC does not possess the statutory power to publish the final list of candidates for the 2027 general election before the 60-day minimum period prescribed by law.

But the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, vacated the judgment and validated the timetable earlier released by INEC for the 2027 general elections.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, declared the timetable as valid and meritorious, in an appeal filed by the election umpire to challenge the judgment the May 20 Federal High Court ruling.

The appeal court contended that the trial court failed to follow binding precedents, adding that the Revised Timetable the INEC issued for the general elections is legally considered subsidiary legislation to the 2026 Electoral Act.

It held that such subsidiary legislation has the same force of law as the Electoral Act, adding that the INEC acted within its statutory powers.

The appellate court maintained that every deadline in the Revised Timetable for the 2027 general elections fell within the ambit of the Electoral Act.

Aside from its contention that the high court erred in law when it failed to determine a jurisdictional issue it raised, INEC maintained that the legal action the Youth Party (YP) initiated against it was not only hypothetical but academic.

It argued that failure of the trial court to make pronouncements on the issues resulted in the denial of fair hearing to the Appellant.

More so, INEC insisted that the high court erred in law when it held that: “It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from their valid primaries which such a  political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the general election.

“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.

“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”

The appeal court ruling may have thrown some political parties in deeper crisis as they battle to upload the list of their candidates to the INEC nomination portal.

Recall that some parties have capitalased on the high court ruling to extend their membership drive as they absorbed and offered tickets to some aggrieved members who were not offered tickets to contest the election on the platforms of their original parties.

This is as INEC has declared that it will put its  house in order to avoid a repeat of the damming technical glitch that rocked its  2023 election results declaration.

INEC chairman, Professor Josh Amupitan, who made the declaration when he received the United Kingdom (UK) High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery at the commission’s headquarters on Thursday in Abuja, said INEC will carry out a comprehensive audit of its systems in order to forestall a repeat of the technical glitches that trailed the 2023 presidential election.

The INEC Chairman expressed the Commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections, adding that it has carried out extensive post-election reviews involving  political parties, civil society organisations, the media, security agencies, development partners, election observers and its own officials.

“Those reviews have informed virtually every aspect of our current preparations,” he said

While he acknowledged the lack of public trust on the commission , the INEC boss expressed confidence that the credibility of the elections would help rebuild confidence in the commission and election process, adding that INEC had undertaken a comprehensive review of its cybersecurity architecture, data systems, and penetration testing protocols, alongside disaster recovery mechanisms and communication systems for a smooth delivery of the process

The Chairman also disclosed that the commission was considering budgeting for a full audit of its systems which he said  would be tested with the conduct of a mock presidential election ahead of 2027.

He further disclosed that the commission is  working closely with security agencies at national, state and local government levels through regular meetings to safeguard officials, infrastructure and voters alike.

He noted that rather than overhaul its existing platforms outright, the Commission had opted to improve on them, including the rollout of self-service, online voter registration that eliminates the need for prospective voters to visit registration offices physically.

“Our objective remains to deliver elections that are credible, transparent, inclusive and reflective of the sovereign will of Nigeria

“Despite a compressed financial timeline, INEC will deliver a free, fair, inclusive and credible election in 2027,” the chairman assured.

He thanked the UK envoy for his consistent engagement with the commission and reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to inclusivity, citing continued attention to women, youth and persons with disabilities in its electoral processes.

In his remarks, the UK High Commissioner, Montgomery,  described the UK as a partner in Nigeria’s democratic journey, noting that both countries had deepened cooperation on security and defence, immigration, and justice, in addition to electoral matters, and commended the Commission’s preparations ahead of 2027.